​Earlier today, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners passed a new food truck ordinance by a vote of 7-1. It will affect about half the truck gatherings, including those in Kendall, Cutler Bay, and other parts of the county. Roundups in North Miami and Miami -- including Wynwood -- will be unaffected because they are governed by those cities' laws.

The most important restriction: 80 percent of residents within 1,000 feet of a roundup must sign off on an event before it can be held.

County zoning and planning director Marc LaFerrier explained that four or more trucks make a roundup, permitting will take five to seven days, and permits will cost $750 per recurring event -- not per week. In other words, weekly events such as Truckers Out West will pay only once annually as long as no site plan revisions are made.

Once agenda item 5(D) went to the floor, it took 54 minutes of discussion before a vote was taken. Food truck owners Jack Garabedian, Richard Hales, Oren Bass, and David Garcia spoke, as did Andrew Guild from Worth Town Propane, who said the food trucks provide him with additional business. Burger Beast's Sef Gonzalez noted that food truck roundups are family affairs.

The commissioners were mainly in favor of the trucks, but had some questions and concerns. Commissioner Rebeca Sosa noted that police were called to a recent roundup because of some heated arguments about traffic. She asked LaFerrier if this would create larger problems and expressed concern over who would verify the signatures of the residents and who would pay for additional police presence.

Other commissioners were on board right away. Commissioner Lynda Bell said this just made good business sense, and Commissioner Barbara Jordan said she would give a favorable vote in exchange for lunch.

Commissioner Sally Heyman recused herself from comment and voting because she owns the coffee truck Coffee Brake and did not want to create a conflict of interest.

The amendment passed 7-1, with Commissioner Javier Souto voting "no" because his proposed amendment to require overnight off-street parking for trucks (which had nothing to do with the proposal) was voted down. Souto arrived late to the meeting and appeared to have little understanding of the food trucks.

After the vote, it was time for the food truck operators to digest exactly what this means to their businesses.

Hales, owner of Dim Ssäm a GoGo and Sakaya Kitchen, said, "What are we going to do right now? In the long run, I think this will be good for the truck owners, but the short term is a bit confusing. We can't just stop working while we're waiting for the permitting process to begin." Asked how the amendment might change his business, chef Jeremiah Bullfrog of gastroPod simply said, "Ask us in three months."

Though this ordinance legitimizes the Miami food truck industry, the wording leaves some big questions. Mainly: How long will it take to pull a permit? Will it be possible to obtain the required signatures from residents 1,000 feet from a roundup? Will local cities and neighboring counties adopt similar rules? Food truck roundups will need to re-evolve, with more advance planning and a lot more paperwork.

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Why always a problem just leave the trucks alone go where they can and let people go out for a night an enjoy . Why does something always have to be made out of nothing. For gods sake if they are worried about something why don't they worry about the people begging for money and selling things in traffic on every street corner. People who want to go to the food trucks go.So sorry you baby Sotso you didnt get your way so you voted no. Well NO will be my vote for you next time your up.

I FUCKING hate Miami Politicians they should all rot in hell for being such selfish piece of shits. Oh no somebody came up with a great idea I need to make money from them since my dumb ass can't come up with a great idea

Can someone provide a coherent translation for this post? What is the end result? Are the trucks being banned from Miami? If so, another reason Miami sucks. I hope the trucks end up in counties that appreciate them.

Either this ordinance is stupid or the writer is poor. All I got out of this is that the county is going to charge people for doing what they've been doing for years for free. Now that I think about it, I guess the writer did the best she could with what she had.

Typical local government, greedy bastards doing everything they can to screw over people trying to make an honest buck. Remember when you could buy good, cheap produce on the side of the road just about anywhere in Miami? Until they priced out all the fruit/vegetable stands and replaced all the "u pick" crop lands with condos which now sit vacant. The sad thing is, the food truck scene couldn't be more different just 4 hours to the north in Orlando (I'm glad I moved to Orlando). The larger events are well-organized community events, with police directing traffic, etc. and the smaller events even have the local cities' blessing, setting up at regular weekly intervals on spots such as public parks.

What is the $750 dollar permit going to provide? What is the justification of the permit fee? And although it was probably a "tongue in cheek" comment, shouldn't Commissioner Barbara Jordan be brought up on charges for solicitation of a bribe after suggesting her vote could be bough by a free lunch?

I have to add this. I certainly hope pulling a permit for a food truck is easier than pulling a construction permit. Miami-Dade was one of the few areas of the country where you couldn't set up a lease based on a set period of time. The usual time frame was 6-9 months. *sighs*

And Miami Dade County wonders why the economy is in the toilet. They are interfering with people trying to make a living while contributing to the economy and not to mention providing a quality product. This is unbelievable!!!

LOVE the food trucks. Just not the inflated egos of some of the food truck owners.. who shall remain nameless.

Also they seem pretty opposed to rules and regulations. Most would rather squat on a property than do the property procedure which is a bit tedious I must say. Happy medium = humble, agreeable food truck owners + relaxed permitting = happy Miami foodies.

Editing nightmare. "It will make about half of food gatherings including ones in Kendall, Cutler Ridge, and other parts of the county." It will make them WHAT, exactly? With this word missing, I'm left as a reader to try to figure out the main point of the article from the context of the rest, and it's still a little clear. And what on earth does this mean: "his proposed amendment to require food overnight off-street parking for trucks (which had nothing to do with the bill) was voted down"?his proposed amendment to require food overnight off-street parking for trucks (which had nothing to do with the bill) was voted down"?

The food trucks are not banned. In unincorporated parts of the county, owners will need to gather signatures from nearby property owners before holding meetups. In cities like Miami and North Miami,nothing will change.

Is this Chuck Strouse, the New Times editor? How many unedited articles do we have to read each week? Didn't you learn from the Route 9 screw up? I love the food trucks, but you should be ashamed of this incoherent mess.